David receiveth holy bread of Achimelech, the priest: and feigneth himself mad before Achis, king of Geth.
In case of necessitie Achimelech the priest g•ueth halowed bread to Dauid, 8. also the sword which he had taken from Goliath 10. then: Dauid going to Achis king of Geth, is forced to faine himself madde.
1And David came to Nobe, to Achimelech, the priest and Achimelech was astonished at David’s coming. And he said to him: Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?Or Davidde se n'andò a Nobe a trovare il sacerdote Achimelech: e Achimelech si stupì della venuta di David, e dissegli: perchè sei tu solo, e non hai anima con te?AND Dauid came into Nobe to Achimelech the priest: & Achimelech was astonyed, because Dauid was come. And he said to him: Why thou alone, and none is with thee?Venit autem David in Nobe ad Achimelech sacerdotem: et obstupuit Achimelech, eo quod venisset David. Et dixit ei: Quare tu solus, et nullus est tecum ? 2And David said to Achimelech, the priest: The king hath commanded me a business, and said: Let no man know the thing for which thou art sent by me, and what manner of commands I have given thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place.E David disse ad Achimelech sacerdote: Il re mi ha dato un'incumbenza, e ha detto: Nissuno sappia il motivo, per cui se' mandato da me, e quello ti ho ordinato: per questo ho detto alla mia gente di trovarsi nel tale, e tale luogo.And Dauid said to Achimelech the priest: The king hath commanded me a word and said: Let no man know the thing, for which thou art sent by me, and what maner precepts I haue geuen thee, for my seruantes also I haue appointed into such and such a place.Et ait David ad Achimelech sacerdotem: Rex præcepit mihi sermonem, et dixit: Nemo sciat rem propter quam missus es a me, et cujusmodi præcepta tibi dederim: nam et pueris condixi in illum et illum locum. 3Now therefore if thou have any thing at hand, though it were but five loaves, give me, or whatsoever thou canst find.Or se hai qualche cosa in pronto, quando non fossero se non cinque pani, dammeli: ovvero qualunque altra cosa potrai trovare.Now therfore if thou haue any thing at hand, yea if but fiue loaues, geue me or whatsoeuer thou shalt finde.Nunc ergo si quid habes ad manum, vel quinque panes, da mihi, aut quidquid inveneris. 4And the priest answered David, saying: I have no common bread at hand, but only holy bread, if the young men be clean, especially from women?Ma il sacerdote rispose a David, e gli disse: Io non ho in pronto pane da laici, ma solamente del pane santo: se però la tua gente è pura, particolarmente rispetto a donne.And the priest answered Dauid, saying I haue no lay breads at hand, but only holy bread, if the seruants be cleane, especially from wemen?Et respondens sacerdos ad David, ait illi: Non habeo laicos panes ad manum, sed tantum panem sanctum: si mundi sunt pueri, maxime a mulieribus ?
5And David answered the priest, and said to him: Truly, as to what concerneth women, we have refrained ourselves from yesterday and the day before, when we came out, and the vessels of the young men were holy. Now this way is defiled, but it shall also be sanctified this day in the vessels.E David rispose al sacerdote, e gli disse: Certamente per quel che aspetta a donne, noi siamo stati continenti jeri, e jeri l'altro quando partimmo, e le vestimenta della mia gente sono state monde: veramente l'uso (di questi pani) ha del profano, ma sarà oggi purificato col lavare le vesti.And Dauid answered the priest, and said to him: And truly, if the matter be concerning wemen, we haue refrained our selues from yesterday and the day before, when we came forth, and the vessels of the seruants were holie. Moreouer this way is polluted, but it also shal be sanctified this day in the vessels.Et respondit David sacerdoti, et dixit ei: Equidem, si de mulieribus agitur: continuimus nos ab heri et nudiustertius quando egrediebamur, et fuerunt vasa puerorum sancta. Porro via hæc polluta est, sed et ipsa hodie sanctificabitur in vasis. 6The priest therefore gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there, but only the loaves of proposition, which had been taken away from before the face of the Lord, that hot loaves might be set up.Allora il sacerdote diede a lui il pane santificato: perocché altro pane non aveva egli, fuori che i pani della proposizione, i quali erano stati levati dalla presenza del Signore per mettervi i pani freschi.The priest therefore gaue him halowed bread; for neither was anie bread there, but only the loaues of proposition, which had bene taken away from the face of our Lord, that hoate loaues might be sette downe.Dedit ergo ei sacerdos sanctificatum panem: neque enim erat ibi panis, nisi tantum panes propositionis, qui sublati fuerant a facie Domini, ut ponerentur panes calidi. 7Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, within the tabernacle of the Lord: and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of Saul’s herdsmen.Or si trovò quivi in quel giorno dentro il tabernacolo del Signore un cert'uomo servo di Saul, che chiamavasi Doeg, Idumeo, il più facoltoso tra' pastori di Saul.And there was there a certaine man of the seruantes of Saul that day, within the tabernacle of our Lord: and his name was Doeg an Idumeite, the mighti•st of Saules pastours.Erat autem ibi vir quidam de servis Saul in die illa, intus in tabernaculo Domini: et nomen ejus Doëg Idumæus, potentissimus pastorum Saul. 8And David said to Achimelech: Hast thou here at hand a spear, or a sword? for I brought not my own sword, nor my own weapons with me, for the king’s business required haste.E Davidde disse ad Achimelech: Hai tu qui pronta una lancia, o una spada? perocché io non ho preso meco la mia spada, nè le mie armi: perchè il comando del re era pressante.And Dauid said to Achimelech: Hast thou here at hand a speare, or a sword? because myn owne sword, and myne owne weapons I tooke not with me. for the kings word hastened forward.Dixit autem David ad Achimelech: Si habes hic ad manum hastam aut gladium ? quia gladium meum et arma mea non tuli mecum: sermo enim regis urgebat.
9And the priest said: Lo, here is the sword of Goliath, the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Terebinth, wrapped up in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take this, take it, for here there is no other but this. And David said: There is none like that, give it me.E il sacerdote disse: Ecco qui la spada di Goliath, Filisteo, ucciso da te nella Valle di Terebinto, che è involta in un panno dietro all'Ephod: se vuoi prender questa, prendila: perchè altra fuori di questa non ci è. E David disse: Dammela: non havvene altra simile a questa.And the priest said: Loe here the sword of Goliath the Philistian, whom thou slewest in the Valley of terebinth, is wrapped vp in a mantel behind the Ephod: if thou wilt take this, take it. for neither is here any other beside that. And Dauid said: There is none other like to that, geue me it.Et dixit sacerdos: Ecce hic gladius Goliath Philisthæi, quem percussisti in Valle terebinthi: est involutus pallio post ephod: si istum vis tollere, tolle: neque enim hic est alius absque eo. Et ait David: Non est huic alter similis: da mihi eum. 10And David arose and fled that day from the face of Saul: and came to Achis, the king of Geth:Quindi David partì, e fuggì in quel giorno per timore di Saul, e andò a trovare Achis re di Geth:Dauid therefore arose, and fled that day from the face of Saul: and came to Achis the king of Geth,Surrexit itaque David, et fugit in die illa a facie Saul: et venit ad Achis regem Geth. 11And the servants of Achis, when they saw David, said to him: Is not this David, the king of the land? Did they not sing to him in their dances, saying: Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?E i servi di Achis veduto Davidde dissero al re: Non è egli costui quel Davidde re del (suo) paese? Non cantavan eglino in sua lode in mezzo alle danze, dicendo: Saul ne ha uccisi mille, e David dieci mila?and the seruantes of Achis said to him, when they had seene Dauid: Is not this Dauid the king of the land? Did they not sing in dances to this man saying: Saul stroke a thousand, and Dauid ten thousand?Dixeruntque servi Achis ad eum cum vidissent David: Numquid non iste est David rex terræ ? nonne huic cantabant per choros, dicentes: Percussit Saul mille, / et David decem millia ? 12But David laid up these words in his heart, and was exceedingly afraid at the face of Achis, the king of Geth.Ma David fece gran riflessione a queste parole, ed entrò in gran timore di Achis re di Geth.But Dauid put these wordes in his hart, and feared excedingly at the face of Achis the king of Geth.Posuit autem David sermones istos in corde suo, et extimuit valde a facie Achis regis Geth.
13And he changed his countenance before them, and slipt down between their hands: and he stumbled against the doors of the gate, and his spittle ran down upon his beard.E contraffece il suo volto dinanzi a coloro, e si lasciava cadere tra le loro mani, e urlava nelle porte, e gli scorrea la saliva per la barba.And he changed his countenance before them, and slipt downe betwen their handes: and he stumbled at the doores of the gate, & his spittle ranne downe vpon his bearde.Et immutavit os suum coram eis, et collabebatur inter manus eorum: et impingebat in ostia portæ, defluebantque salivæ ejus in barbam. 14And Achis said to his servants: You saw the man was mad: why have you brought him to me?E Achis disse a' suoi servi: Avete veduto che costui è uno scemo di cervello: perchè lo avete condotto a me?And Achis said to his seruantes: You haue seene the man madde: why haue you brought him to me?Et ait Achis ad servos suos: Vidistis hominem insanum: quare adduxistis eum ad me ? 15Have we need of mad men, that you have brought in this fellow, to play the madman in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?Mancano a noi pazzi, che lo avete menato a far follie dinanzi a me? un tal personaggio entrerà egli in mia casa?Doe we lack madde men, that you haue brought in this felowe, to play the madde man in my presence? shal this man enter into my house?an desunt nobis furiosi, quod introduxistis istum, ut fureret me præsente ? hiccine ingredietur domum meam ?
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Year of the World 2944.
Challoner
Nobe. A city in the tribe of Benjamin, to which the tabernacle of the Lord had been translated from Silo. (Challoner)
Tudelensis
It was about 12 miles south-west of Gabaa. (Tudelensis.)
There was another Nobe on the east side of the Jordan, to which Serarius thinks David was three days in travelling. But when David made that assertion, he wished to conceal the real state of his affairs, as he had not seen Saul since he was at Najoth, ver. 5. Nobe was afterwards accounted a sacerdotal city, ver. 19., and 2 Esdras 11:32.
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Calmet
The king, etc. This was an untruth, which David, like many other great men, might think lawful in such an emergency. But it is essentially evil. (Calmet)
And such, which he deems it unnecessary to specify. Septuagint retain the Hebrew words, "Phelanni almoni." See Ruth 4:1.
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Challoner
If the young men be clean, etc. If this cleanness was required of them that were to eat that bread, which was but a figure of the bread of life which we receive in the blessed sacrament [the Eucharist]; how clean ought Christians be when they approach to our tremendous mysteries? And what reason hath the Church of God to admit none to be her ministers, to consecrate and daily receive this most pure sacrament, but such as devote themselves to a life of perpetual purity. (Challoner)
Calmet
Women. God required this on many occasions, Exodus 19:15. Urgent necessity determined Achimelech to grant the loaves, as our Saviour intimates, though it is probable that he first consulted the Lord, 1 Kings 22:16. (Calmet)
Menochius
David perhaps went to Nobe on purpose to ask advice. (Menochius)
Worthington
We have here an example of a dispensation, and of the distinction between lay, or common, and holy bread. (Worthington)
21:5
Calmet
Vessels, that is, the bodies, have been holy; that is, have been kept from impurity: (Challoner) in which sense St. Paul uses the word, 1 Thessalonians 4:4. It also includes garments, arms, etc. All was to be clean. Septuagint, "my men are all purified." (Calmet)
Haydock
Defiled. Is liable to expose us to dangers of uncleanness, (Challoner) as we shall perhaps have to fight. (Haydock)
Challoner
Sanctified. That is, we shall take care, notwithstanding these dangerous circumstances, to keep our vessels holy; that is, keep our bodies from every thing that may defile us. (Challoner)
Calmet
The text is very obscure. Hebrew, "the way is impure, because to-day it shall be purified in the vessel." (Calmet)
Haydock
Protestants, "and the bread is in a manner common, yea though it were sanctified this day in the vessel." We might eat of it in a case of such necessity. (Haydock)
Calmet
Though laics be commonly debarred from tasting of it, we will partake of it with all due respect. (Calmet)
Haydock
Septuagint, "the journey is (of a disagreeable nature, or) impure, therefore it will be rendered holy by my vessels," or arms, in the king's cause. (Haydock)
Menochius
He seemed to be going towards the infidel nations. (Menochius)
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Within. Hebrew nehtsar, "detained, or assembles before the Lord." Theodoret thinks he was possessed; others believe he had made a vow, etc.
Calmet
Edomite. Some Greek copies read, a Syrian, as also 1 Kings 22:9. (Calmet)
Menochius
He had embraced the Jewish religion. (Menochius)
21:9
Calmet
This. Chaldean observes, he gave this sword "after he had consulted the Lord with the ephod." In a just war, the ornaments of the temples may be used. Pro republic î plerumque templa nudantur. (Seneca) (Grotius, Jur. 3:5, 2.) (Calmet)
Tostatus believes that David would restore this sword, as soon as he had procured other arms.
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Haydock
Achis. He is elsewhere called Achimelech. This bold step was taken by God's order, (Salien) or secret impulse, as the high priest and Doeg knew not whither David had directed his course. (Haydock)
Menochius
Sanchez thinks David received no express declaration, as the event was not very prosperous. (Menochius)
Calmet
Many great men have taken refuge among their greatest enemies, as Themistocles, Alcibiades, and Coriolanus fled respectively to the Persians, Lacedaemonians, and Volscians, and were received with great respect. Indeed the acquisition of such men is equivalent to a victory. (Calmet)
Salien
Though David might expect that his name would be hateful at Geth, as he had slain their great champion, etc., yet he had done it in an open manner, and had displayed the most heroic courage, so that the king and nobility might raise their thoughts above the vulgar sentiments of jealousy and revenge. (Salien)
Calmet
David only retired from the court of this king, to avoid the hatred of the courtiers; he returned again, and was kindly received, 1 Kings 27:1. (Calmet)
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Menochius
Land, equal to a king in glory. (Menochius)
Calmet
Perhaps they had heard of the rejection of Saul, and reflected that their own country belonged to him, according to the terms proposed by Goliath. (Calmet)
21:13
Haydock
Countenance. Hebrew, "sentiment, (Calmet) or, behaviour." (Haydock)
Chaldean, "reason." He no longer acted as a prudent man, but like a fool.
Haydock
Down; not fainting, (Calmet) but like one in an epileptic fit. (Haydock)
Hebrew, "he feigned himself mad." Chaldean, "stupid."
Haydock
Stumbled. Hebrew, "wrote, or made figures upon." Septuagint, "beat the drum upon the gates of the city, and he was carried about, or acted the fool, in his hands, (parephereto en tais chersin, autou: Amama would have, auton, their) and he fell against the doors of the gate," etc. They seem to give a double translation. St. Augustine says, "we cannot understand how David could be carried in his own hands. But we understand how it was verified in Christ. For Christ was carried in his own hands at his last supper, when he gave, or commending, his own body, he said, This, etc., for he then carried his own body in his own hands." (In Psalm xxxiii. conc. i.) Ferebat enim illud corpus in manibus suis. Amama may laugh at St. Augustine's ignorance of Hebrew, but the holy doctor was at least a sincere Catholic. (Haydock)
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Haydock
House. David had not rushed into the palace of his own accord, but wished to remain concealed. Some of the people however knew him, and would have him to enlist as one of the soldiers of Achis; (Menochius) or even designed to get him put to death, which made him have recourse to this expedient. Some of the saints have imitated him, to avoid worldly honours and dignities of the Church. (Haydock)
Worthington
Thus the conduct of Jesus Christ himself, was accounted foolishness by worldlings, Mark 3:21., Luke 23:11., and 1 Corinthians 1:23. (Ven. Bede) (Worthington)
21:1
Nobe.... A city in the tribe of Benjamin, to which the tabernacle of the Lord had been translated from Silo.
21:4
If the young men be clean, etc.... If this cleanness was required of them that were to eat that bread, which was a figure of the bread of life which we receive in the blessed sacrament; how clean ought Christians to be when they approach to our tremendous mysteries. And what reason hath the church of God to admit none to be her ministers to consecrate and daily receive this most pure sacrament, but such as devote themselves to a life of perpetual purity.
21:5
The vessels.... i. e., the bodies, have been holy, that is, have been kept from impurity.—Ibid. Is defiled.... Is liable to expose us to dangers of uncleanness.—Ibid. Be sanctified, etc.... That is, we shall take care, notwithstanding these dangerous circumstances, to keep our vessels holy, that is, to keep our bodies from every thing that may defile us.
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Distinction of common & holie bread. Also an example of dispensation in case of necessitie.
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Dauid most wisely in such distresse fained himself to be a foole. By which the Holie Ghost mystically signified that Christ should do such things not of feare but of diuine wisdom, as he should be coū ted a foole. Mar. 3. v. 21. Luc. 23. v. 11. 1. Cor. 1. v. 23 •. Beda. Quest. in 1. Reg. c. 14.
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 57.9
… an hungred, he and they that were with him, how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the highpriest, and did eat the shew-bread which is not lawful to eat but for the priests?” Now let us turn to the books of Samuel, or, as they are commonly called, of Kings, and we shall find there that the highpriest’s name was not Abiathar but Ahimelech,
John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 17.18
… and stumbled against the doors of the gate and his spittle ran down on his beard;”
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St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 3.33
… “Be ye ready, for three days ye shall not approach to women.” Also in the first book of Kings: “And the priest answered to David, and said, There are no profane loaves in my hand, except one sacred loaf. If the young men have been kept back from women, they shall eat.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 48.15
I have said in the same treatise that David and they that were with him could not have lawfully eaten the shew-bread had they not made answer that for three days they had not been defiled with women
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 39
But Mark saith, “In the days of Abiathar the High Priest:” not stating what was con trary to the history, but implying that he had two names; and adds that “he gave unto him,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Harmony of the Gospels 1.3
… For it was not lawful for any one to eat that, save the priests only.
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 63.1
… For Idumæa was a certain nation of men going astray, where idols were worshipped. In no good sense is put this Idumæa. If not in a good sense it is put, it must be understood that this life, wherein we suffer so great toils, and wherein to so great necessities we are made subject, by the name of Idumæa is signified.
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 108.18
… For my part I used to say that it was best to give in to rancour and to retire before passion. So Jacob dealt with his brother Esau; so David met the unrelenting persecution of Saul. I reminded her how the first of these fled into Mesopotamia; and how the second surrendered himself to the Philistines,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 56.1
… as if in a word we were to read, These estates belong to such an one or to such an one: so on the lintel of this Psalm we have inscribed, “At the end, for the people that from holy men were put afar off, to David himself, at the inscription of the Title, when the Allophyli held him in Gath.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 56.3
… because if Mine, sweet; if sour, not Mine; if not Mine, surely alien. “There held him,” then, “Allophyli in Geth.” We find indeed, brethren, David himself, son of Jesse, king of Israel, to have been in a strange land among the Allophyli, when he was sought by Saul, and was in that city and with the king of that city,
Socrates Scholasticus † AD 440 The Ecclesiastical History of Socrates Scholasticus 3.8
… And what apology will these babblers make for David’s flight from Saul, when he sent messengers from his own house to dispatch him; and for his concealment in a cave, after contriving to extricate himself from the treacherous designs of Abimelech,
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St Peter of Alexandria † AD 311 The Canonical Epistle, with the Commentaries of Theodore Balsamon and John Zonaras 5
But upon those who have used dissimulation like David, who feigned himself to be mad
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Defence of His Flight. (Apologia de Fuga.) 10
… What excuse will they make for David, after all this idle talk, for fleeing from his house on account of Saul, when he sent to kill him, and for hiding himself in the cave, and for changing his appearance, until he withdrew from Abimelech
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Duties of the Clergy 1.43
223. David danced before the ark of the Lord. Samuel did not dance; yet David was not blamed, while the other was praised. David changed his countenance before the king, whose name was Achish.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Against Lying 24
… But if it be no lie, when things which signify one thing by another are referred to the understanding of a truth, assuredly not only that which Jacob did or said to his father that he might be blessed, but that too which Joseph spoke as if in mockery of his brothers, and David’s feigning of madness,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 34.1
1. Because there was there a sacrifice after the order of Aaron, and afterwards He of His Own Body and Blood appointed a sacrifice after the order of Melchizedek; He changed then His Countenance in the Priesthood, and sent away the kingdom of the Jews, and came to the Gentiles. What then is, “He affected”?
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 34.3
… For very humility taught our Lord in His Own Body and Blood: because when He commendeth His Own Body and Blood, He commendeth His Humility, in that which is written in this history, in that seeming madness of David, which we have passed by, “And his spittle ran down over his beard.”
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AND DAVID CAME TO NOBE TO ACHIMELECH THE PRIEST — the chief, or Pontiff. For Achimelech was the son of Ahijah, son of Ahitob, son of Phinehas, son of Eli the Pontiff. St. Mark, II, 26, says that David came to Abiathar, either because Abiathar, the son of Achimelech, in his father's absence, was performing his duties; or because the name was common to both son and father. David, fleeing at the beginning of Saul's persecution, returned to him a second and third time, hoping to reconcile himself with him. But when he learned from Jonathan of his implacable hatred, he fled, and did not return to Saul again. IN NOBE. — This city fell to the priests on account of the tabernacle of the covenant being transferred there. The Mosaic tabernacle, after the ark was captured, appears to have been brought to Nobe; from there, when it was destroyed by Saul, as we shall hear in the following chapter, it was transferred to Gabaon: from there it was brought by Solomon into the temple. AND ACHIMELECH WAS ASTONISHED, BECAUSE DAVID HAD COME — because he saw him alone and unarmed, as a wanderer and fugitive, and he did not know the reason, namely the wrath of Saul.
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THE KING COMMANDED ME A WORD. — David lies officiously to protect his life: namely, lest if he said he was fleeing from Saul who was hostile to him, Achimelech, fearing the wrath of Saul, would not dare to give him bread; again, lest he himself create danger to Achimelech's life with Saul. For Doeg was there, devoted to Saul, who nevertheless accused Achimelech to Saul, and was the cause why so many priests were killed, as we shall hear in the following chapter. AND I HAVE APPOINTED MY SERVANTS TO SUCH AND SUCH A PLACE. — David alone, with his face covered, lest he be recognized by Doeg, entered to Achimelech, but he ordered his servants to wait for him in an appointed place near Nobe: wherefore he received bread from Achimelech, and brought it to his servants; for all were suffering from hunger and want after two days' journey. All satisfied their hunger from the loaves of proposition, as Christ says in Matthew XII, 3, because he could not otherwise obtain common bread on account of fear of Saul. For necessity has no law.
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IF THE YOUNG MEN ARE CLEAN, ESPECIALLY FROM WOMEN — how much more in the new law ought husbands to abstain from the use of wives on that day when they wish to receive not the bread of proposition, but the divine bread, namely the Eucharist? Thus the Theologians.
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AND THE VESSELS OF THE YOUNG MEN WERE HOLY. — "Vessels," that is, bodies, were clean from women and undefiled. Thus the Apostle, I Thessalonians IV, 4, commands that each one "possess his vessel" that is his body "in honour and sanctification." NOW THIS WAY IS UNCLEAN, BUT IT SHALL BE SANCTIFIED THIS DAY IN THE VESSELS. — In Hebrew derech, that is, way, is often taken for custom and practice. As if to say, "This way," that is, this lay custom, is unclean and polluted; namely, that laymen eat of the loaves of proposition, which by law only priests are permitted to eat: "but it shall be sanctified in the vessels," as if to say, This holy bread will not be polluted, but will be received holily in our pure bodies. Thus St. Jerome, Lyra, Abulensis. Symbolically St. Augustine, in Psalm LI, teaches that David here represents not only the person of a king, but also of a priest, and thus represents Christ, who was a priest equally as a king.
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FOR THERE WAS NO BREAD THERE, SAVE ONLY THE LOAVES OF PROPOSITION. — How did Achimelech the Pontiff not have common bread in his house? Abulensis answers that the reason was that he had already placed fresh loaves of proposition on the table, and therefore according to the law he had removed the old ones for his own food and that of his household; nor had he baked others, because those would suffice. But the loaves of proposition could be eaten only by (as I said in Leviticus xxiv) priests and their male sons, not by women and daughters: wherefore for them Achimelech ought to have had common bread, which he could and ought to have given to David. Wherefore you might more plainly say that David here transacted his business with Achimelech not in the house, but in the tabernacle, where there were no other loaves than those of proposition. For David was feigning haste and urgent business, lest his flight become widely known, and thus he himself be captured or killed by the servants of Saul.
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NOW THERE WAS A CERTAIN MAN OF THE SERVANTS OF SAUL ON THAT DAY, DETAINED IN THE TABERNACLE OF THE LORD; AND HIS NAME WAS DOEG THE IDUMEAN. — He was bound by a vow, by which he had vowed to remain in the Tabernacle for some days, that he might devote himself to prayer and the law of God. This Doeg betrayed David and Achimelech to Saul, and therefore was a type of Judas the traitor betraying Christ to the Jews. Thus St. Augustine in Psalm LI.
21:9
BEHOLD THE SWORD OF GOLIATH, IT IS WRAPPED UP IN A CLOTH BEHIND THE EPHOD. — David had consecrated this sword to God in the tabernacle as to the author of the victory. It was kept behind the vestry in which the Ephod and priestly vestments were contained. Hence Abulensis rightly concludes that it is fitting to dedicate to God in temples swords, arms, standards and similar votive offerings in memory of victories and benefits received from God. AND DAVID SAID: THERE IS NONE LIKE THIS, GIVE IT TO ME. — Hence it is clear that David was of great stature and vast body, as one who would use and fight with the sword of Goliath.
21:10
DAVID THEREFORE AROSE AND FLED THAT DAY FROM THE FACE OF SAUL, AND CAME TO ACHIS KING OF GETH. — David, dismissing his other servants, fled alone to Achis, so that he might hide better. For Goliath, who was slain by David, was from Geth, whose king was Achis. Geth in Hebrew is the same as a winepress, and it is aptly applied here; for David was pressed as it were in a winepress of fear and anguish.
21:11
IS NOT THIS DAVID THE KING OF THE LAND — who everywhere fights, conquers and rules? Or, as Vatablus says, king of the land, that is, of this region of ours: for the kingdom of our land seems to pertain to him on account of the slain Goliath: for the battle was fought under this law, that the victor should possess the region of the vanquished, as if to say: Since the kingdom of your land seems to pertain to David, O Achis, why do you not admit him to it?
21:12
AND DAVID LAID UP THESE WORDS IN HIS HEART — thinking of a way to escape so present a danger. He prayed and composed Psalm LV, in which he asks to be freed from enemies, and shortly after he composed Psalm XXXIII, which begins: "I will bless the Lord at all times."
21:13
AND HE CHANGED HIS COUNTENANCE BEFORE THEM. — In Hebrew taamo, that is his taste, that is his sense — David, who was previously sensible, feigned himself mad. He deformed, contracted, and dilated the appearance of his face and countenance, transforming his mouth, eyes, nostrils and lips into various forms, as fools do. AND HE SCRABBLED ON THE DOORS OF THE GATE — throwing his arms about, spreading his legs, staggering, and falling to the ground, he feigned himself mad or epileptic. AND HIS SPITTLE RAN DOWN UPON HIS BEARD — as happens in epileptics and phrenetics. Allegorically, St. Augustine explains the same of Christ: "He affected, that is, he had compassion and pity on us from on high; and because he who is crucified is stretched on wood; it is said: And he was drummed, that is, he was crucified, he was stretched on wood. He affected, that is, he had affection toward us. He is the door for us, which is opened so that we may believe in God. But that Lord God of ours opened the hearts of mortals by the cross." The same St. Augustine translates: "He was borne in his own hands" — and he applies this to Christ at the last supper: "Christ was borne in his own hands, when eating his own body he said: This is my body. For he bore that body in his own hands." You may ask whether David sinned by feigning himself a fool. More mildly and more truly Abulensis and others judge that David did not sin, both because he seems to have been moved to this by God — whence shortly after he composed the elegant Psalm XXXIII — and because to simulate thus is not a lie, but merely a silence of the truth, or a just dissimulation for a cause. Thus Samuel feigned that he went to sacrifice in Bethlehem (cap. XVI, 2). Thus Josue feigned that the citizens of Hai fled (cap. VIII, 5). Thus Gedeon with three hundred feigned that he had a great army (Judg. VII, 20). Whence Horace: "Mix a brief folly with your counsels. It is sweet to play the fool in season." And Cato: "To feign folly in season is the highest prudence."
21:15
ARE MADMEN LACKING TO US? — because just as there are never lacking those sick in body, so neither those sick in mind: especially because sickness of mind and delirium depends on sickness of body and brain; which if it be injured even slightly, creates epilepsies, phrenoses, deliriums.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
21:1
… For the exception of I Sam. 21:1-6, in view of the grave necessity of David and his followers (cf. Mt. 12:4; Mt. 2:26; Lc. 6:4), Achimelech requires a minimum of legal purity. …
Tabernacle (Tent) of Meeting (Hebrew 'Ohel, usually followed by Me'eth: "Tabernacle of Convene")
… of it (Ex. 40). The T. followed the Israelites in their vicissitudes from the desert to the Holy Land: at Gilgal (Josh. 4:19; 5:10; 9:6; 10:6 ff. 9:15, 43; 14:6); at Shiloh (ibid. 18:1; 19:51; Judg. 18:31; 21:19; 1 Sam. 1-4; 14:3; Ps. 78:60); at Nob (1 Sam. 21:1); at Gibeon (1 Chron. 16:39; 21:29; 2 Chron. 1:3); on Zion (1 Kings 3:4). After the Temple was built, it was preserved as a relic in an upper room of it. Jeremiah would have hidden …
21:5
They are called lēhem pāniem "bread of the face" or of the presence (Ex. 25:30; I Sam. 21:7 etc.), because they were placed before God; lēhem tāmīdh "perpetual bread" (Num. 4:7); lēhem gādheh "holy bread" (I Sam. 21:5, 7); after the exile, also lēhem ham-ma'ārehheth "bread of the pile" (I Par. 9:32; 23:29; Neh. 10:33), on account of the arrangement on the table. …
21:6
… The Greek versions have indiscriminately: ἄρτοι τοῦ προσώπου (I Sam. 21:6; Neh. 10:33; Aquila more slavishly: προσώπων), ἄρτοι ἐνώπων (Ex. 25:30), οἱ ἄρτοι οἱ προσεύμενοι (ibid. 39:18 [36]), more often ἄρτοι τῆς προσθέσεως (ibid. 40:21; I Sam. 21:6; I Par. …
21:7
… was there "detained" in the tabernacle, perhaps to carry out his turn of service, to which foreigners were obliged, saw the high priest Ahimelech hand over to the fugitive the showbread and the sword of Goliath, after having consulted the Lord for him (1 Sam. 21:7; 21:8 Heb.). …
They are called lēhem pāniem "bread of the face" or of the presence (Ex. 25:30; I Sam. 21:7 etc.), because they were placed before God; lēhem tāmīdh "perpetual bread" (Num. 4:7); lēhem gādheh "holy bread" (I Sam. 21:5, 7); after the exile, also lēhem ham-ma'ārehheth "bread …
21:8
… "detained" in the tabernacle, perhaps to carry out his turn of service, to which foreigners were obliged, saw the high priest Ahimelech hand over to the fugitive the showbread and the sword of Goliath, after having consulted the Lord for him (1 Sam. 21:7; 21:8 Heb.). …
… The sword, first hung as an ex-voto in the Tabernacle, would be taken up again by David in flight (1 Sam. 21:8 ff.). …
21:11
… David, after being saved at Nob by the high priest Achimelech (v.), sought asylum with A., but, recognized by the courtiers as the slayer of Goliath, he feigned madness and A. sent him away (I Sam. 21, 11-16). The title of Ps. 33 (34), 1, refers to this episode, but the name is corrupted into Abimelech (Masoretic text) or Achimelech (Vulgate). …
Geth (Hebrew Gath, Akkadian Gimtu, "Winepress")
… (v. GIANTS IN THE BIBLE): Josh. 11:22; 1 Sam. 17:4; 2 Sam. 21:19 ff.; 1 Chron. 20:6. It was punished for having kept the ark of Yahweh, which spread death there (1 Sam. 5:7-10; 6:17). David took refuge there twice when persecuted by Saul (1 Sam. 21:11-16; 27:2-11), with King Achish (v.).
… Even the very few remains of the Philistine language that are preserved are not Semitic: the name ἀνάμνη ("king") seems to be, like the Greek τύραννος, of Lydian or Phrygian origin; the name Goliath could be identical to Ἀλλόφυλος; the name Achish of the king of Gath (1 Sam. 21:11 etc.) has been preserved in Egyptian in the name Aksau of a Kefitiu (Cretan). …
21:21
Jonathan (Heb. Jēhōnāthān and Jōnāthān; Vulgate I. and Ionathas)
3. Valiant nephew of David (ibid. 21:21; I Chron. 20:7). 4. Uncle and expert counselor of David (I Chron. 27:32). 5. Son of the high priest Abiathar; he brought to the fugitive David news about the rebel Absalom (II Sam. …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.